Jay Cocks’ adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s novel is a passion project that the prolific director has been hoping to make for years now. Neeson joins Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe in the story of Father Rodrigues, a 17th century Portuguese Jesuit heading to Japan with a fellow priest to discover whether Rodrigues’ mentor has left the church. Their mission is complicated by the fact that religious persecution is rife in the country, necessitating that they travel undercover with Watanabe as their interpreter.

With his cast slowly falling into place, Scorsese can begin filming later this year in Taiwan, finally getting to work on a drama that has been bubbling in his head since he read Endo’s novel 25 years ago.

As for Neeson, he’ll next be heard as Bad Cop (and Good Cop!) in The Lego Movie, due out February 14, followed by air marshal thriller Non-Stop on February 28. He also has Seth MacFarlane’s comedy A Million Ways To Die In The West.